What makes a great leader? (Not the sunglasses, but nice try!)

I was on my way to a Keller Williams event and I started to think about leadership. For example, Gary Keller is very strong, authoritative leader, but so are those in his leadership team. You see where this is going, right?

It’s important to remember that leadership is never about a single person. Leadership is an exploitation of your strength and your team’s strengths. Recently our Kelsey Ayers was named President of our company. She brings a level of kindness and generosity that really bolsters other leaders in our team and allows me to what I do best. (#leadershipwin!)

Let’s delve into this concept of leadership a bit more. A couple months ago we had Gene Hammett who is a leading expert in fast growth companies and leadership on our Entrepreneurship Elevated podcast. Gene described how as leader, you have to change as your business grows. And a big part of that is cultivating a strong team of employees – who may just be leaders as well.

I used to think that when you start a business, provide a good example and be a good leader. “What do I need to change? I’m a great leader. Offer trust, get loyalty. No need to change anything.” But as my business grew I realized it’s not that simple, and Gene said it best. If your company is growing, leadership needs to evolve in order to lead a team successfully. So how did I evolve in my leadership role?

Hiring the Best – Strong leadership means hiring the best employees. Once I thought responsible employees were best. I have learned over the years however it’s not a sense of responsibility I want to foster in an employee, but a sense of ownership. Bam. That’s the term that changes the game. Ownership. Employees with a sense of ownership make them act, well, like owners.

Cultivate a Positive Work Culture – A snack room and a pool table are nice and all, but isn’t it more fun to grow? Employees care most about growing and having value in the marketplace. And while that sounds like a bit of a conflict, it isn’t if the leadership creates a workplace an employee doesn’t want to leave. A leader has to be proactive and cultivate the right culture for their team. How? One way is to remember that strong companies are team focused, not customer focused. A leader’s job is to care about their team of employees so they take care of the customers. That’s achieved by getting acquainted with them as people and knowing what their goals are. Focusing on the areas where they want to grow will create a workplace where they are excited to bring their ideas, and that benefits everyone. Nice job, awesome leader!

Delegate – One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is becoming the bottleneck in the company by taking everything on and not delegating. The smartest thing you can do as a leader is to develop other leaders. This means you must let them think for themselves and allow them to take that ownership I mentioned.

A Team of Entrepreneurs – You may not want to be the only entrepreneur in the room. Employees with an entrepreneurial spirit are more resilient, have more vision and are more proactive vs reactive. Something that can only benefit your company.

Be Courageous – A great leader doesn’t get trapped in their progress. You want to continue to move forward, not rest on your laurels. It’s important to look inward, but don’t get stuck. Be decisive. You have to have the courage to leave the comfortable place you’re in to get to someplace new. Because, say it with me, that’s what creates great leadership.

Great leaders develop other leaders. As an entrepreneur where do you really rock? That’s where you need to focus. Find where you are strong and strengthen that and bring in others who are strong where you are not.

If you want more tips like this go to Mikemotorbike.com or Mikemichalowicz.com and click on Get the Tools for tons of tried and true resources for business help and how to run a truly profitable business. Let’s rock entrepreneurship!